Overreaction
by Kinnorite
Summary: A greenrider is unprepared for the outcome of her green's first flight. The Holdbred don't easily forget what they have been taught about relationships. One-shot. Open to review and criticism.


**Author's Note**: This is my first piece of fanfiction in a very long time. Criticism is appreciated. I'm very sure there are grammatical errors such as run-ons and fragments. This is a short piece on an incident with a few of my characters. Right now it is a one-shot. Depending on the reviews, I might write more about these two. I hope you enjoy!

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_Where in the world of Pern am I?_ groggily thought Rahea, refusing to open her eyes. Her senses told her she was bundled in a couple of furs that were luxuriously soft. The mattress was pleasantly plumped and warm, and wherry feathers made the pillows feel like her head was resting on air. Her skin was gloriously naked under the furs, and Rahea felt satisfied for the first time in her eighteen turns. 

A familiar conscience interceded her thoughts, her voice a sweet velvet sound as she spoke, _In the bed of Cadilth's rider. Do you not remember our wonderful union yesterday, Ra?_

_Shards!_ exclaimed the young healer, quickly wrapping a fur around her now exposed body. Her dark eyes flew open, and her heart was pounding in her chest. As she sat up and looked around the weyr, Rahea found herself staring at the rider who was fast asleep next to her. He too was naked, and his eyes were closed, oblivious to the reaction of his bedmate. Quickly, she found herself regretting the events of the previous day; if only she could wish herself _between_.

The greenrider rolled out of her side of the bed, her feet hitting a drafty stone floor. The inconvenience was forgotten as she started a quick hunt for her garments. A sickening feeling started as knot in her stomach. Apparently whatever had happened between the two riders had been intense from the way her clothes were scattered across the rider's weyr. For the love of Faranth, Rahea hoped she hadn't conceived a child out of their ill-paired tryst.

_Why are you acting like a fool-headed wherry hen?_ demanded the indignant green. Rangith was no stranger to the mood swings her lifemate was prone to, but she was worried at her rider's reaction to the winner of her first flight. The young green had been sure her rider would be pleased at her choice of dragon. The emerald-colored dragoness was smug at the turnout of males for her flight. Perhaps she might be the lowest ranking dragon, but the spirited female had made those males fly long and hard to twine necks with her.

_I can't let him wake up and find me here_, pleaded the young greenrider. Plaiting her dark hair quickly and securing it, she moved awkwardly through the weyr to deal with the problem of finding her trousers. After a desperate search of a few minutes, the wherhide pants were located under a table. Her slim legs were inserted into the pants and then pulled up to her hips. As soon as she found her tunic, she could make her quick getaway.

"Rahea?" asked a very familiar masculine voice behind her half-naked torso. Taking a deep breath to prepare her, the pale-skinned woman slowly turned around to face the male rider. Her dark eyes were wide with fear as they gazed into the calm blue of his eyes. The rider felt her heart skip a beat as she gazed upon the face of her fellow healer who unfortunately possessed charming, and handsome, dark looks.

"K'sen," she began, softly, her voice just above that of a whisper, "I didn't. I mean."

Cadilth's rider was an intuitive healer of twenty-five turns. He had picked up on her reaction of panic at being found in his bed the minute he had watched her scramble about his weyr for her clothing. A look of hurt crossed his face as their eyes met. He was a prideful man, and he had certainly expected a more welcoming reaction from her. His brown Cadilth was a strong male; he was certain any other rider would have been pleased with her green's choice.

Then it dawned on him what the problem was. Rahea had been a hold-bred child until she was apprenticed to Healer Hall. Hadn't M'kael warned him of this reaction from her? Promiscuousness was not a virtue taught in Holds. How could K'sen have forgotten? He had known Rahea for turns, since she was a young child. Damn the sparseness of female greenriders to educate new riders on the mechanics of Flights, and the goldriders only had to endure it every couple turns.

The young man patted the bed, and motioned for her to come sit beside him. Rahea obeyed his silent command, and let him wrap his strong arms around her. He held her head to his chest, stroking his thumb tenderly from her cheek to the tip of her chin. K'sen knew that he had been her first lover and that she needed more emotional support from him than anything else.

"You already have a weyrmate," she said, sitting up from his embrace, her face a palette of emotions, "Cerioa has been with you for over two turns. What will she think? What will she say? What do I do? Rangith will rise every four months from here on out. What will she say if Cadilth catches my green every time?"

"My dear, sweet, innocent Rahea," murmured K'sen, shaking his head in frustration, "You are too perceptive for your own good. Haven't I told you that you worry too much for a greenrider? Cadilth won the flight for reason."

"I didn't want you to win the flight!" she said, the words slipping carelessly from her mouth in a moment of anger. The worst part was Rahea knew her statement was the farthest from the truth. She had been afraid to wind up in the bed of a complete stranger. Female greenriders were a novelty in the Weyr, and there weren't enough queens to go around to please everybody.

Her eyes dropped in embarrassment at her outburst, and her voice took on a tone of remorse, "I'm sorry, K'sen. I didn't mean what I said. I feel so completely lost and overwhelmed. I never expected Rangith to rise on a Threadfall day."

He gently picked her up and sat her in his lap, allowing her to face away from him. K'sen gently began to massage her shoulders, kneading the knots of tension out of her muscles. His expert fingers worked their way up her neck, and then back down to the rest of her lower torso. After a few quiet minutes, he turned her to face him. His blue eyes were smoldering with unexpressed emotions. The brownrider kissed her, and she resisted at first. Finally, she gave in to his passionate kisses.

"Let me be a true lover without dragonlust," he whispered quietly in her ear.


End file.
